Gluesenkamp Perez, Bipartisan Colleagues Introduce Legislation to Empower Tribal Nations in the Face of Environmental Threats
This week, Rep. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez (WA-03), along with Reps. Emily Randall (WA-06) and Mike Simpson (ID-02) introduced the Tribal Emergency Response Resources Act (TERRA) to remove red tape for Tribal Nations to attain federal resources to manage and respond to the devastating impact of extreme weather events and natural disasters.
As natural disasters increase in frequency and severity across the U.S., Tribal Nations are experiencing needs for relocation and federal resources on their reserved lands. The current system to obtain federal resources requires Tribal Nations to navigate through different agencies with varying requirements for each application. The TERRA Act would streamline the differing processes into one program under the Department of the Interior to address the Tribe’s environmental resiliency and relocation goals.
Last month, Rep. Gluesenkamp Perez urged FEMA to reinstate the Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities (BRIC) program, which supported several now-cancelled sea level resilience and tsunami preparedness projects in Pacific County.
“Tribal communities in Southwest Washington are facing worsening extreme weather events and sea level rise, so they need to be able to quickly access resources to build resiliency and address infrastructure needs, such as relocating to higher ground,” said Rep. Gluesenkamp Perez. “Our bipartisan TERRA Act will reduce administrative burdens, level the playing field, and streamline Tribes’ access to these much-needed funding opportunities.”
“Climate change is already impacting all Americans,” said Rep. Randall. “Right here at home, we have seen rising tides, wildfires and dwindling natural resources as a consequence. No one knows this better than Tribal Nations, who have been stewards of this land since time immemorial. Our promise to safeguard Tribal sovereignty must extend long into the future – which means ensuring Tribal Nations have the resources necessary to navigate the changing climate. I’m grateful to my colleagues for helping to lead this effort as we fight to remove the red tape to the federal resources Tribal Nations deserve unchallenged access to.”
“Tribal communities face pressing challenges in the wake of natural disasters, and they deserve the necessary federal support and resources to protect their communities,” said Rep. Simpson. “Congress must ensure that disaster assistance is both accessible and responsive when these devastating events occur. As Chairman of the Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies Appropriations Subcommittee, I’ve been proud to work to uphold the responsibility of fulfilling our treaty and trust obligations with Tribal nations. This legislation is a necessary step to reaffirm our commitment to Tribal communities.”
“The Shoalwater Bay Indian Tribe is strongly supportive of the TERRA Act and urges Congress to act swiftly to ensure its enactment. Our reservation, located on Washington State’s Pacific Coast, is under constant threat of slow-moving natural disasters. It will soon be entirely underwater due to the relentless loss of 100–130 feet of coastline per year. To protect our community and our way of life, we have purchased 1,200 acres of higher-elevation land adjacent to our Reservation to establish a new community location, and we are very grateful to the federal government for investing significantly in our essential relocation project. However, bureaucratic red tape has significantly hampered our progress. The TERRA Act would eliminate this administrative overreach by minimizing reporting requirements, eliminating redundancies, and streamlining government efficiency so Tribal Nations like us can prepare, mitigate, and respond to natural disasters efficiently and effectively.”
“The Affiliated Tribes of Northwest Indians (ATNI) proudly supports the TERRA Act and applauds its introduction. Tribes throughout Indian Country, including ATNI member Tribes in Washington, Idaho, Oregon, Montana, Nevada, Northern California, and Alaska, are confronting the impacts of climate change without a roadmap. ATNI has developed its own Climate Resiliency Program to address this gap and promote the goals of protecting Tribal health, safety, and welfare, and preserving Tribal cultural and natural resources. The TERRA Act builds upon these efforts by providing a federal navigational tool and a path to comprehensive climate solutions Tribes can customize to their communities and implement themselves.”
“The United South and Eastern Tribes Sovereignty Protection Fund (USET SPF) supports the reintroduction of the Tribal Emergency Response Resources Act (TERRA Act). Tribal Nations are contending with increasing occurrences of natural disasters, along with destruction of our environments and properties. Those located in coastal areas, including USET SPF Member Tribal Nations, are most at risk due to impacts from sea level rise and erosion. Frustratingly, there are precious few federal resources dedicated to long-term Tribal climate and disaster planning, adaptation, and mitigation. We have called upon Congress to create a comprehensive federal program to coordinate Tribal environmental resiliency efforts. Like the ‘477 Program’ established by P.L. 102-477, the TERRA Act would effectively combine and streamline federal funds from various sources into one single plan so that Tribal Nations can better prevent, prepare for, and respond to natural and environmental disasters, while also removing needless administrative barriers to expedite response efforts. We fully support efforts that increase Tribal Nations’ access to federal funding and programs in a manner that increases our ability to exercise our sovereignty and determine the best way to utilize these funds for our communities. Our Tribal Leaders expect Congress to uphold its trust and treaty obligations by enacting this and other bills to support our efforts to protect our homelands and cultural lifeways in perpetuity.”
“The effort to relocate our Tribal citizens out of harm’s way is well underway thanks in no small part to funding support from the federal government,” said President Capoeman of the Quinault Nation. “Unfortunately, those federal dollars have often come with delays, burdensome red tape and other barriers to access. We welcome the TERRA Act to help remove or reduce those barriers and clear the way for much-needed support for our people to prepare and recover from flooding, sea level rise and landslides. We strongly support passage of this important legislation and thank Representative Randall for introducing this important bill and for her continued leadership.”
“The Maniilaq Association celebrates the reintroduction of the TERRA Act. Alaska Native Villages across the State are facing ever-intensifying coastline and riverine degradation, flooding, permafrost degradation, wildfires, and severe winter weather. Many of the communities we serve in the Northwest Arctic Borough and Point Hope are contending with complex mitigation efforts like community relocation and wildland firefighting that are hampered, delayed, or otherwise complicated by inefficiencies in accessing government funding. The TERRA Act is essential to eliminating these barriers, streamlining federal resources, and honoring Tribal sovereignty to design programs that work best for the local community.”
Full text of the legislation is available here.
Reps. Gluesenkamp Perez and Simpson previously introduced the legislation in the 118th Congress.